[Foundation-l] Putting the Foundation back in WMF

[Thomas Dalton]

On 18/11/2007, Ray Saintonge <saintonge at telus.net> wrote:
> Thomas Dalton wrote:
> > On 17/11/2007, Ray Saintonge <saintonge at telus.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Thomas Dalton wrote:
> >>
> >>> Being able to fund activities off capital gains would be very useful,
> >>> but really it requires large endowments to work. Building up a fund
> >>> from small fundraisers isn't going to work.
> >>>
> >> Capital gains are not a reliable investment, especially not in the short
> >> term.  Short term capital gains are mostly a matter of good luck.
> >>
> > Putting the cash in a savings account still constitutes capital gains.
> > The term doesn't refer just to risky investments.
> Money put into a savings account yields interest income, not capital gains.
>
> A capital gain is the increase in the value of an asset.  When the
> market value of a company's share increases from its original cost that
> is a capital gain.  When you sell a piece of land for more than you paid
> for it without having altered it since you bought it, that is a capital
> gain.  If these values go down, it is a capital loss.

Ok, perhaps my example wasn't a particularly good one, but my point
stands. The profit made on a Treasury Bill is a capital gain under
your definition, and they are generally considered risk-free (if the
US government defaults on its debts, keeping the WMF running will be
the least of our worries).